


Evocem Vos

by Tashilover



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Fake Character Death, Magical!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-01
Updated: 2013-12-01
Packaged: 2018-01-03 03:03:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1064980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A card represented much more than a magical weapon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A magical AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Evocem Vos

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of Negima. 
> 
> http://negima.wikia.com/wiki/Pactio

Even Arthur has a card.

Amazingly, he never showed it off. Martin thought of all things, a Pactio Card was something Arthur would display with great pride. Even Douglas showed off his cards, though they were now in disuse. But Arthur kept his out of sight. Martin only knew about the card because he once saw Arthur staring at it.

Carolyn had a card too. It was in disuse and it sat in a picture frame in her office. The picture on her card showed her as a young woman, probably only fifteen at the time. Her special object was a quill and a parchment, twirling around her in an endless stream. Martin spent some time researching what Carolyn's old special tool was and he found it.

_Aeternum tenetur._  Forever Bound. This object would forever bound someone to their contract or word. It was the perfect object for Carolyn, who was probably sick and tired of people backing from their promises. It was a shame she couldn't use it anymore. Martin wondered what happened that made such a useful card in disuse.

It was quite rude to ask if a person had a card or not. A card symbolized a connection, a bond with another soul and should not be treated lightly.

At least, that's what Martin kept telling himself. When he walked down the street and saw people step into magical circles to create pactios, jealousy overwhelmed him. He knew some of these pactios were done on the fly and most likely become disuse within a month or so.

Still, a pactio was a sign of trust, love, power  _and_  you also got a great magical object to go with it. If offered, Martin probably would jump on making a pactio too.

 

 

 

 

Security had increased. Fitton airport was a tiny, insignificant place and people really had no fears of the planes here being hijacked. The security guards weren't lazy, but compared to other guards in large, international airports, Fitton's looked like meter maids.

Today, the guards were armed with rifles, batons, and pepper spray. There were even a few who activated their pactio, holding swords, knives, and other magical weapons. They were screening nearly everyone, and were threatening to take away a few pactio cards to those who refused to shut them in an anti-magical box.

By the time Martin got through security, he was a few minutes late.

"What's going on?" Martin said as he stepped into the MJN office. "The guards refused to tell me anything!"

Carolyn was sitting at her desk, leaning her head back with a wet rag over her eyes. "Some idiot spread a rumour saying a plane may be hijacked from Fitton."

Douglas was stretched out over the couch, his arm draped over his face, and in the same tired voice said, "They've been searching through everything, asking a million questions, and interrogating all the employees like we're criminals."

Martin looked around the room. "Where's Arthur?"

"Because he has a pactio card, they're trying to convince him to either put it under lockdown, or leave the card at home," Carolyn told him. She sighed heavily. "They're never going to convince him to leave it at home. He'll fight them tooth and nail."

"Wow, is he really that attached to his card?"

"It's..." Carolyn paused, frowning. "Yes, it's that important to him."

That pause certainly told a few tales. "So are we going to fly any time soon today?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Not until they give up the approval. So sit down, put your feet up and prepare to wait."

 

 

 

 

 

When Martin turned twenty-one, he bought himself a magic circle. It took nearly all of his savings. When his parents questioned what happened to the money, he told them university fees were at an all time high that year. He never told anyone what he did.

Martin was determined to make a pactio that year. As soon as that girl or boy said yes to him, he would activate the circle, step in and create that bond.

He should have known it wouldn't happen that year. Or the next year. Or the year after that. For the first two months of having the circle, its magical force thrummed wonderfully under Martin's skin, waiting to be activated. But as the years went by, the thrumming got softer and softer, and soon it went quiet. Martin had no idea if magic circles had an expiration date and he didn't want to activate it just in case he was wrong.

By the time Martin turned twenty-seven, he'd forgotten he had it.

 

 

 

 

In the beginning when Martin first started his job at MJN and he had to spend days like these waiting for hours and hours on their client, Martin took great strides to keep himself alert and awake. He certainly didn't want their client suddenly popping in through that door and seeing Martin with his uniform wrinkled and his eyes dull.

Today, Martin couldn't give two hoots. The moment Carolyn told him it was going to be a long wait, Martin flopped down onto the couch, placed his cap over his face and decided he was going to take a nap.

At that moment, the front door banged opened and Martin nearly lost his mind. He scrambled to right his cap, to stand up and look professional, and nearly ended up tripping over the couch.

It was only Arthur. "They won't let me keep my card!" He cried. His eyes were wide and wild with distress. "Mum!"

"Arthur, Arthur, calm down, it's only a two hour flight." Carolyn said soothingly. Both Martin and Douglas was surprised by Carolyn's reaction. Usually she would wave off Arthur's objections with a roll of her eyes.

"No!" Arthur said. He was nearly in tears. "I can't! You know I can't!"

Then, he actually did burst into tears.

Both Douglas and Martin shared a horrified look. Neither of them have ever seen Arthur like this before.

"Alright, Arthur," Carolyn said exasperated. "I'll go talk to security. Morons, stay here and call me if they finally released us to fly."

Carolyn escorted Arthur out of the office, patting his back soothingly. His little sniffles of misery could still be heard after the door closed.

Once it was quiet enough, Martin turned to Douglas and asked, "What  _is_  Arthur's card? It has to be important for him to have that type of reaction!"

"I don't know," Douglas said, frowning deeply. "I once asked him if he could show it to me and he refused. You would think he would be eager to show it off but no."

"Any idea what it could be?"

"Knowing Arthur? The ability to make chocolate scones fall from the sky."

Martin paused and thought about that. "Actually, that would be really cool."

"Yes, I suppose so," Douglas said after a second of consideration. "But not even Arthur would have such a strong reaction to have that taken away from him. Great, now I'm immensely curious to know what his card is."

Martin chuckled, glancing over to Carolyn's disuse card hanging on the wall. He stared at it, and the familiar longing to have a card burned deeply inside of him. He stamped the feeling away as he often did, not wishing to disappoint himself over nothing. "I wonder who gave him his card."

Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"Have you ever met any of Arthur's girlfriends?" Martin said. "I have met one and she's... cute, though she's not exactly pactio material. I don't even think they're together anymore."

"Martin," Douglas chastised lightly. "You know as well as anybody a pactio is not a sign of a relationship, but a partnership. It's about trust and love, not lust and convenience."

"I know. And yet that doesn't stop people I see on the street make pactios out of the blue."

"And those pactios only last for at most, a month," Douglas said. He started to sound a little frustrated at Martin's ignorance. "Without that partnership, the cards become disuse by themselves. Otherwise there'll be a  _billion_  pactios being thrown around and everybody would have a magical object. I myself would have  _three_."

_And I would have none_. "You don't miss your pactio cards?"

"A little," Douglas admitted without bitterness or anger. He patted his coat pocket where the disuse cards sat. "The magical items I got were great to have. For example, with my second wife, I had gotten  _Diarium Ejus_. It was a book that allowed me to read people's mind."

Martin tried his best to ignore the twinge of jealousy. "You, reading people's mind? How dangerous."

"And yet it didn't help me read my wife's intention to sleep with our neighbour." Douglas shrugged. "After that, I didn't want something that tied me to her in such a way, even though the card was so very useful."

A mind-reading Douglas. The whole world could be under his rule had he kept that card. Martin shuddered at the thought.

"What about you?" Douglas asked. "Now that the subject is brought up, do you have a card, Martin?  _Had_  a card?"

Martin sighed. "No... I've never had a card."

"It happens," Douglas said. "Magical circles are pretty expensive to get. Even married couples who've been together for fifty years have never got a pactio because they cannot afford it."

The mention of magic circles made a blip in Martin's memories. He blinked, taking a few seconds to allow the memory crawl through, and when it finally emerged, he smiled. "Oh... um... Douglas, do magic circles have an expiration date?"

"Expiration date?"

"Yeah. For example, if someone bought a magic circle and never used it, does the magic drain away?"

Douglas shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Some magics can remain dormant, for a few hours or even a few days. How long are you speculating?"

"Years."

"Er... I guess with a magic circle, theoretically it should stay dormant until the user wants to activate it. Don't quote me on that though."

Martin didn't touch his stomach but he wanted to. He wanted to prod and poke the activation spell, to see if the circle was still there, waiting for him to use.

The office phone rang. "Oh, that must be security," Douglas said, getting up to answer. "Maybe now we can finally leave this rock and do our jobs."

He answered it with a grin, expecting good news. "Hello?"

His grin immediately dropped, and panic rose into Douglas' eyes. "Martin!" He snapped. "Quick, lock the office door!"

He pointed, like Martin didn't understand what he meant, but Martin scrambled, ignoring the little voice in his head. He dashed to the door, hands stretched out to lock it when it suddenly flung opened and three men with semi-automatic guns walked through.

Trying to stop in mid-step, Martin fell back on his arse, looking up at them, horrified.

Douglas yelled into the phone, " _They're here_!"

The moment he did that, one man raised his gun and shot him.

 

 

 

 

Douglas was going to run out of blood. Martin was surprised Douglas hasn't yet- it was everywhere. It soaked his shirt, Martin's shirt, and despite Martin's best effort to keep pressure on the wound, a steady puddle was slowly growing beneath him.

"Please," Martin begged. "Please, let him go. He needs a hospital, please..."

One gunman was watching the door, while the other two paced worryingly around the small office. "Shut up!"

"Look, he's going to die-"

"And if you don't shut up, I'll shoot him again and you won't have to worry about a fucking hospital, okay?"

The gunmen were getting antsy. As far as Martin knew, none of them had magical items on their person. No pactio cards, no wands, no spell scrolls. All they had were their manmade weapons. A gun was still a viable threat, but a strong shield spell could deflect almost anything, and the army waiting just outside was more than ready for them. The only bargaining chip they had were their hostages. It was the only reason why the army had not busted down the door and killed the lot of them.

Except Martin knew, from training of such situations, that the army would rather have them all dead, hostages included, than risk a plane getting off the ground. Maybe in another hour or two, a decision will be made.

In an another half hour though, Douglas won't be around to see that decision.

Douglas' breath was slowing. At first, he held his hand over Martin's to help stem the bleeding. All of his strength was gone and he had let his hand slide off uselessly to the side. He was fighting to keep his eyes open. "Martin," he said quietly. Was he trying to whisper or was his voice just that weak? "You... said you had... a circle?"

"I..." Martin looked back at the gunmen. They were not looking at them. Pitching his voice low, Martin said, "Yes, how did you know?"

"C'mon, it was pretty... obvious from the direction you ...were taking our conversation."

Martin couldn't help but smile. "Douglas, I got the circle when I was... twenty? Nineteen? Well over a decade ago."

"It should still work."

"But..." Martin jerked his head towards the gun men. "If I activate it, they  _will_  know. And there's a good chance my pactio item is not a weapon."

"We're dead... either way. We may as well go down... swinging."

Martin didn't sob, but he bowed his head and cried quietly. This wasn't how it was suppose to end. This wasn't how it was suppose to  _begin_. And Douglas, who was fading quietly beneath him, was selfless enough to rub his thumb across Martin's hand in a soothing gesture.

Finally, Martin took in a shuddering breath and said, "Douglas, do you accept me as your partner?"

Douglas' eyes slid shut. "I... do..."

Deep inside of him, in the center of his chest, Martin felt a burning sensation. It grew stronger by the second, spreading the hot, sudden warmth through his veins. Beneath them, the circle activated. Symbols of ancient contracts twisted around on the ground, asking the planets of Mars and Mercury to give their consent. Martin bent down, and with his tears splattering on Douglas' cheeks, he kissed him gently, finalizing the contract. The light grew so bright, Martin thought he was going to go blind.

"Pactio!" One of the gunmen screamed. "They're making a fucking pactio!"

"Shoot them, you idiot!"

The whole process lasted less than a second. The light dimmed and floating right in front of Martin's face, was his new card.

**_Defendi_** , it read in bold, shining lettering.

The gunmen raised their weapons towards them. Martin touched his card, and yelled, "ADEAT!"

Two giant white wings sprouted from Martin's back. He didn't  _think,_  and bent over Douglas, covering him with his wings just as the hail of bullets slammed into them. All Martin could hear was the deafening roar of the guns, like a million fireworks going off at once. He felt the bullets strike his wings, exploding on impact. Nothing was getting through.

Then their guns clicked empty.

At the sudden silence, as the gunmen tried to shift through their pockets to grab more ammo, the door groaned, then shattered into a million pieces.

The spray of sharp wood splinters rained upon the men, aiming specifically to their faces and joints, disabling them. They screamed, dropped their weapons, and tried to pull the gigantic splinters out of their skin.

By then the army had already stormed in. They forced the men to the ground, wrenching their arms behind their backs, magically binding them.

Shyly, Martin peeked out from his wings. "Here!" He yelled, pulling back, retracting his card's ability. "Here! My friend needs help! Please!"

Douglas was limp in his hands.

An army medic pushed her way in, and kneeled down in front of Douglas' prone body. With her rune tattooed hands stretched out in front, she silently moved them over Douglas' heart. The runes glowed, then dimmed quickly. "I'm sorry, sir," she said. "He has expired."

Martin gaped at her. "No! He can't be, my pactio card is still activated-!"

He pulled out the card, staring at it wildly. His picture was still on it, beautiful white wings bellowed out from his back, but that was it. The magic base that held all the signs of the zodiac were gone. The roman numerals representing his luck was gone. Every single text and symbol that once declared this card of use was gone. The card was dead.

Martin stared down at Douglas. His pale, bloodless skin, his closed eyes. Martin waited, expecting to see his chest rise and fall, to see some kind of movement out of him, Martin just had to WAIT...

"C'mon, son," the medic said softly, pulling Martin up by his arm. "Let's get you out of here..."

"NO!"

The sudden emotional outburst did not come from him. Arthur was the one screaming, trying to elbow the army men out of the way. "Let me through!" He kept repeating. "Let me through, let me through, I can help him!"

"Arthur..." Martin said, stepping forward, grasping him by the shoulders to keep him from entering the room. "Douglas is gone. You can't help him."

Arthur defiantly lifted his chin. "Yes I can."

He pulled out his card. "Adeat!"

Martin only caught the words  _vitas spiritus_  before the card glowed brightly, summoning Arthur's given item: a small silver bell.

The army security let him pass. Arthur kneeled down in front of Douglas' body, smiling sadly. "It only works if I get to them within the first three minutes. This is why, Skip, I am never parted from my card. I wouldn't dare."

He rung the bell.

It sounded like he rung a thousand bells. Martin flinched almost violently as the vibrations of the sound shuddered through him. Even the army personnel jerked, throwing out a hand to stop themselves from collapsing.

Arthur rung the bell again. The noise was even louder, longer, shaking Martin to his very bones. The light fixture above them shattered.

Arthur rung it a third time. But this time, there was only silence.

"Good," Arthur said, recalling his item. "It's done."

Martin had to gasp a few times to get enough breath to say, "What? What's done?"

He screamed when Douglas suddenly sat up.

"Well," Douglas said, staring at everyone in the room. "That was strange. What happened?"

 

 

 

 

"So, apparently Arthur's item allows him to bring back anyone from the dead. Or near dead. No wonder he spends so much time at the children's hospital."

Douglas couldn't stop poking at his shoulder. The only indication he had of his wound was a small puckered pink scar. According to Douglas, he said his shoulder felt stiff, but has not reported any loss of feeling or movement. Finally, he dropped his hand, huffing. "I can't believe Arthur has such a powerful artifact. Of course Arthur would get such a thing."

If anything, the need to know the story behind Arthur's card was stronger than ever. Martin wondered if Arthur would be willing to share that story with him.

"And what about you?" Douglas asked. "Are you finally happy with your card?"

Shyly, Martin pulled the pactio card out. Now that it had been reactivated, the magical symbols once again decorated the card. It pulsed with energy. "I'm very happy," Martin said, handing it over to let Douglas see and inspect. "It was just lucky the circle was able to activate when it did."

"We're lucky your item was a defense one. Otherwise we would be swiss cheese."

Douglas held the card out for Martin to take back. When Martin didn't move, Douglas raised an eyebrow in question.

"We're not... you know..." Martin said. "Partners. Not really. It was just a spur of the moment."

"Yes, so?"

"So... don't you want to deactivate the card?"

" _After all that_?" Douglas nearly yelled in disbelief. "Martin, as far as I'm concerned, you can keep this card for the rest of your life. Because it it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here to see the rest of mine. Now take this damn card and show it off proudly, you clot."

Martin opened his mouth to argue technically it was Arthur who saved Douglas' life, but the look Douglas gave made him keep the silence.

Martin happily took the card back. On the top, it was written,  _Comitis_.


End file.
